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Pratincole
The pratincoles or greywaders are a group of birds which together with the coursers make up the family Glareolidae. They have short legs, very long pointed wings and long forked tails. Description Their most unusual feature for birds classed as waders is that they typically hunt their insect prey on the wing like swallows, although they can also feed on the ground. Their short bills are an adaptation to aerial feeding. Their flight is fast and graceful like a swallow or a tern, with many twists and turns to pursue their prey. They are most active at dawn and dusk, resting in the warmest part of the day. Like the coursers, the pratincoles are found in warmer parts of the Old World, from southern Europe and Africa east through Asia to Australia. Species breeding in temperate regions are long-distance migrants. Their two to four eggs are laid on the ground in a bare scrape. The downy pratincole chicks are able to run as soon as they are hatched. The Australian pratincole, ...
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Collared Pratincole
The collared pratincole (''Glareola pratincola''), also known as the common pratincole or red-winged pratincole, is a wader in the pratincole family, Glareolidae. As with other pratincoles, it is native to the Old World. Taxonomy The collared pratincole was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1766 in the twelfth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the swallows and swifts in the genus ''Hirundo'' and coined the binomial name ''Hirundo pratincola''. The collared pratincole is now placed in the genus ''Glareola'' that was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The genus name is a diminutive of Latin ''glarea'', "gravel", referring to a typical nesting habitat for pratincoles. The species name ''pratincola'' means an inhabitant of meadows, from Latin ''pratum, prati'', "meadow" and ''incola'', "inhabitant", from ''incolere'', "to inhabit". Two subspecies are recognised: * ''Glareola pratincola pratincola ...
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Black-winged Pratincole
The black-winged pratincole (''Glareola nordmanni'') is a wader in the pratincole bird family, Glareolidae. The genus name is a diminutive of Latin ''glarea'', "gravel", referring to a typical nesting habitat for pratincoles. The species name commemorates the Finnish-born zoologist and explorer Alexander von Nordmann. Description It is long, with short legs, long pointed wings and a forked tail. It has a short bill, which is an adaptation to aerial feeding. The back and head are brown, and the wings are brown with black flight feathers. The belly is white and the underwings are black. Very good views are needed to distinguish this species from other pratincoles, such as the collared pratincole and the oriental pratincole which may occur in its range. It is marginally larger than the collared pratincole, and is shorter-tailed and longer legged. Although the dark underwing and lack of a white trailing edge to the wing are diagnostic, these features are not always readily seen ...
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Small Pratincole
The small pratincole, little pratincole, or small Indian pratincole (''Glareola lactea''), is a small wader in the pratincole family, Glareolidae. Distribution The small pratincole is a resident breeder in India, Western Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. It breeds from December to March on gravel or sand banks near rivers and lakes, laying 2-4 eggs in a ground scrape. Breeding areas include small areas in northern Karnataka (manvi district raichur.(and along the Hemavathi River) and northern Kerala near Kannur. This species is only 16.5-18.5 cm in length, with a 42–48 cm wingspan. Because of its small size, the small pratincole can be briefly confused in flight with swifts or swallows. Description This bird has short legs, long pointed wings and a short tail. Its short bill is an adaptation to aerial feeding. On the ground, it looks mainly pale grey (hence ''lactea'', milky). The crown of the head is brown. The wings are grey abo ...
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Glareola
''Glareola'' is a genus of birds in the family Glareolidae. The pratincoles are a group of birds consisting of the seven species of this genus and the Australian pratincole, the only species of the genus '' Stiltia''. The genus ''Glareola'' was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the collared pratincole (''Glareola pratincola'') as the type species. The genus name is a diminutive of Latin ''glarea'', "gravel", referring to a typical nesting habitat. Species list The genus contains seven species: *Collared pratincole (''Glareola pratincola'') *Oriental pratincole (''Glareola maldivarum'') *Black-winged pratincole (''Glareola nordmanni'') *Madagascar pratincole (''Glareola ocularis'') *Rock pratincole (''Glareola nuchalis'') *Grey pratincole (''Glareola cinerea'') *Small pratincole The small pratincole, little pratincole, or small Indian pratincole (''Glareola lactea''), is a small wader in the pratincole family, Glareolidae. Distribution ...
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Oriental Pratincole
The oriental pratincole (''Glareola maldivarum''), also known as the grasshopper-bird or swallow-plover, is a wader in the pratincole family, Glareolidae. Etymology The genus name is a diminutive of Latin ''glarea'', "gravel", referring to a typical nesting habitat for pratincoles. The species name ''maldivarum'' refers to the type locality, the ocean near the Maldive Islands; the type specimen, caught alive at sea, survived for a month on flies. Description These birds have short legs, long pointed wings and long forked tails. They have short bills, which is an adaptation to aerial feeding. The back and head are brown, and the wings are brown with black flight feathers. The belly is white. The underwings are chestnut. Very good views are needed to distinguish this species from other pratincoles, such as the very similar collared pratincole, which also has a chestnut underwing, and black-winged pratincole which shares the black upperwing flight feathers and lack of a white trai ...
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Glareolidae
Glareolidae is a family of birds in the wader suborder Charadrii. It contains two distinct groups, the pratincoles and the coursers. The atypical Egyptian plover (''Pluvianus aegyptius''), traditionally placed in this family, is now known to be only distantly related. The family contains 17 species in 4 genera. Description The feature that defines the family from the rest of the order is the bill, which is arched and has the nostrils at the base. The pratincoles have short legs, long pointed wings and long forked tails. They have a buoyant flight that allows them the unusual (for the order) hunting technique of taking their insect prey on the wing like swallows. The wings also allow for long migrations in some species. The coursers have long legs, which are used to run (giving the group its name). The wings are shorter and have a more sustained flight than that of the pratincoles. Distribution and habitat The pratincoles and coursers have an Old World distribution, occu ...
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Rock Pratincole
The rock pratincole (''Glareola nuchalis'') is a species of bird in the family Glareolidae. Distribution and habitat There are two subspecies of rock pratincole: *''G. n. liberiae'' (Schlegel, 1881), – ''Rufous-collared pratincole'' – from Sierra Leone to western Cameroon *''G. n. nuchalis'' (Gray, 1849), – ''White-collared pratincole'' – Chad to Ethiopia, south to southern Angola & northeast Namibia to western Zambia & Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ... Identification The rock pratincole (''Glareola nuchalis'') is a native African wading bird. Mature adults have dark gray or brown plumage with a white line beginning beneath the eye extending to the back of the neck like a collar. Their wings are long and dark with a distinct white patch on ...
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Australian Pratincole
The Australian pratincole (''Stiltia isabella'') is a species of bird in the family Glareolidae. It breeds in Australia's interior; it winters to northern and eastern parts of the continent, Indonesia and New Guinea. It is a medium-sized nomadic shorebird which is commonly found in arid inland Australia. It breeds predominantly from south-western Queensland to northern Victoria and through central Australia to the Kimberley region in Western Australia. The Australian population is estimated at 60,000 individuals. They are a migratory species that generally move to the southern parts of their distribution range to breed during spring and summer. During winter they migrate to northern Australia, New Guinea, Java, Sulawesi and southern Borneo to over-winter.Geering, A., Agnew, L. & Harding, S. (2007). Shorebirds of Australia. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood. Although they are common, their occurrence is unpredictable and varies in location.Morcombe, M.(2003). Field guide to Australian ...
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Stiltia
The Australian pratincole (''Stiltia isabella'') is a species of bird in the family Glareolidae. It breeds in Australia's interior; it winters to northern and eastern parts of the continent, Indonesia and New Guinea. It is a medium-sized nomadic shorebird which is commonly found in arid inland Australia. It breeds predominantly from south-western Queensland to northern Victoria and through central Australia to the Kimberley region in Western Australia. The Australian population is estimated at 60,000 individuals. They are a migratory species that generally move to the southern parts of their distribution range to breed during spring and summer. During winter they migrate to northern Australia, New Guinea, Java, Sulawesi and southern Borneo to over-winter.Geering, A., Agnew, L. & Harding, S. (2007). Shorebirds of Australia. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood. Although they are common, their occurrence is unpredictable and varies in location.Morcombe, M.(2003). Field guide to Australian ...
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Grey Pratincole
The grey pratincole (''Glareola cinerea'') is a species of bird, in the family Glareolidae. Habitat It is found on the continent of Africa, in the countries of Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ..., and Burundi. References External linksImage at ADW grey pratincole Birds of Central Africa Birds of West Africa grey pratincole grey pratincole Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Charadriiformes-stub ...
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Madagascar Pratincole
The Madagascar pratincole (''Glareola ocularis'') is a species of bird in the family Glareolidae. It is found in Comoros, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Somalia, Tanzania, possibly Mauritius, and possibly Réunion. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, rivers, freshwater lakes, rocky shores, and intertidal marshes. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby .... References External linksBirdLife Species Factsheet. Madagascar pratincole Birds of Madagascar Madagascar pratincole Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Jules Verreaux {{Charadriiformes-stub ...
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Courser
The coursers are a group of birds which together with the pratincoles make up the family Glareolidae. They have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills which curve downwards. Their most unusual feature for birds classed as waders is that they inhabit deserts and similar arid regions. They have cryptic plumage and crouch down when alarmed to avoid detection by predators. Like the pratincoles, the coursers are found in warmer parts of the Old World. They hunt insects by running. Their 2–3 eggs are laid on the ground. Species in taxonomic order * Cream-colored courser ''Cursorius cursor'' * Somali courser ''Cursorius somalensis'' * Temminck's courser ''Cursorius temminckii '' * Indian courser ''Cursorius coromandelius'' * Burchell's courser ''Cursorius rufus'' *Double-banded courser The double-banded courser (''Rhinoptilus africanus''), also known as the two-banded courser, is a species of bird in the family Glareolidae. Description The bird's crown is pale and str ...
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